


The Golden Years

by emynn



Category: Queer as Folk (US)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Post-Series, Romance, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, silliness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-07
Updated: 2016-01-07
Packaged: 2018-05-12 10:32:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5663092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emynn/pseuds/emynn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Brian and Justin are mature, responsible adults who are perfectly capable of chaperoning Gus' school dance. Well, they're adults, anyway.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Golden Years

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [2015 Queer as Folk Holiday Gift Exchange](http://qaf-giftxchnge.livejournal.com/tag/2015%20xchnge).

The colorful lights were flashing, the bass was thumping, the crowd was moving, and Brian Kinney was trapped in the ninth circle of hell.

“What the fuck kind of music is this anyway?” Brian asked. “If you have to announce that this is the ‘best song ever, news flash, it’s not.”

Justin laughed and rested his hand on the small of Brian’s back. “I’m sure our parents felt the same way about the music we listened to growing up.”

“Yeah, because you need a fucking soul to appreciate the Cure,” Brian muttered. “And I bet yours were worried all those boy bands would turn you gay.”

“Shut up,” Justin said, rolling his eyes. “I never listened to boy bands.”

“No, just jerked off to them,” Brian said with a smirk.

Justin waggled his eyebrows. “I could do that with them on mute.”

Brian laughed and tugged Justin close. “I wouldn’t mind having you and Timberlake together,” he said, licking the curve of his ear. “I could call out your name and you wouldn’t know which one it’d be for.”

“Oh, I think I’d know,” Justin said, and his smile was so smug and dangerous that Brian couldn’t help but lean down to give him a heated kiss.

“Dad! I thought we had an agreement.”

Brian pulled abruptly away from Justin, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Justin, for his part, looked far too amused at being caught making out on the dance floor for his own good. “Gus, that was hardly fucking in the middle of the cafeteria.”

“Only because I came over,” Gus said, glaring at them.

“Don’t you think you’re going a little overboard?” Justin asked. “Your dad and I are adults. We know how to behave at a school dance.”

Gus arched an eyebrow, and Brian cursed his strong genetics for not the first time since Gus reached his teen years. In a few more years, Brian had no doubt his son would surpass him in the ability to pour a thousand insults into the most infinitesimal shift in facial expression.

“Just go have fun,” Brian said. “Justin and I will just stand here, minding the punch bowl.” When Gus’ suspicious stare didn’t abate, Brian held up both hands. “Hands off. No groping. Just two middle school dance chaperones enjoying an evening of music and dancing.”

Gus gave them another _look_ , then marched back off to join his friends.

Brian exhaled. “Remind me why we’re here?”

“Because we love Gus, Melanie’s at a conference, and Lindsay needs to stay home with poor, sick JR, and Principal Reed would never let her live it down if she bailed on chaperoning, so you generously offered to fill in like the wonderful friend and father you are.” He grinned. “And so we could spy and see if we could find this mysterious Avery Gus has a thing for.”

“Ah, right,” Brian said, nodding. “Somehow, it seemed so much simpler in the abstract.”

“Most things do,” Justin said. “Don’t worry, in just a few years’ time Gus will be sneaking out of the house to go to bars and pick up hot older men. Or women,” he added.

“Fuck me,” Brian muttered.

“Later,” Justin said. “You heard what Gus said. Hands to ourselves all night.”

“Well, I hope Gus remembers that if he wants to get any action from this Avery tonight,” Brian grumbled. He eyed the punch bowl. “What do you think the odds are somebody spiked that?”

“Pretty sure the only high you’d get from that is the insane sugar rush,” Justin said. “I tried some a few minutes ago.”

Brian sighed. “In my day, an open container like that wouldn’t last five minutes before someone dumped a bottle of --”

“Hello, Principal Reed,” Justin said, elbowing Brian in the waist. “Kids seem to be having fun.”

Principal Reed, a thin-lipped woman who reminded Brian powerfully of that bitch who held a reign of terror over the GLC for years, sniffed. “Mr. Kinney, Mr. Taylor. I’m more concerned that no babies are made tonight. You _have_ been keeping an eye out for vertical lapdancing, yes? We enforce that rule quite strictly here.”

“Ah, we’ve been focusing more on guarding the punch bowl,” Brian said. “But we’ll be sure to shift our focus to the, ah, vertical lapdancing.”

“The punch bowl?” Principal Reed asked. “Interesting. It’s true, you never know what these kids have on them these days. Good thought. Ms. Peterson clearly knew what she was doing sending you two.”

“We’ve always been known the responsible ones in our social circle,” Brian said, offering his most charming smile. It didn’t soften Principal Reed’s expression, but it did produce a snort out of Justin, which Brian would prefer any day. “We never want to be anything less than perfect role models for Gus and his friends.”

Principal Reed gave them a curt nod and then left them, onto her next victims. The second she was out of earshot, they burst out laughing.

“Vertical lapdancing?” Justin asked. “What the fuck is that?”

“Hell if I know, but I think it’s safe to say we’re not in Babylon anymore, Sunshine” Brian said. 

“Christ,” Justin said, shaking his head. “Whoever thought we’d come to this?”

Brian looked down at him. Somehow, despite their efforts to keep a respectable distance between them, Justin had ended wrapped up around Brian again, his arm snaked around his back and his head resting on his shoulder. It was a comfortable position for them, nearly their default these days. So long as they were within touching distance, they would be touching, falling into each other’s space as naturally as breathing. 

Thirteen years had brought them to this. Thirteen years that had both flown by and had also transformed Brian so completely that at times he was able to forget he had ever known anything else.

Those early years, when being with Justin had felt like the first time he had discovered sex itself -- thrilling and overwhelming and addictive, the most exquisite pleasure he’d ever known, as well as the most terrifying. Years of pushing and pulling (and not always in the fun way), years of growing together, years of starting to maybe, and finally, without a doubt, believe in love. 

Then, of course, had been what Brian and Justin referred to as “the difficult years.” Just under two of them, to be precise. They couldn’t have lasted any longer. Two years of living apart, of knowing how much they loved each other but how important this separation was for them in this stage of their relationship. That didn’t make it any less miserable. They were not a pair meant to subsist on daily phone calls and monthly visits, and phone sex was no substitute for the real thing. They argued more, about stupid, petty shit, that both of them knew was a coverup for how much they missed each other and hated not being able to see each other all the time. Only two years, but Brian had felt the weight of each and every one of those seven hundred days.

But they had been worth it, because they had led to this. This, of course, being what Justin called “our golden years” when he was looking to get a playful smack from Brian for making it sound like they were a pair of saccharine geriatrics instead of two men in their sexual peaks cohabiting in the most vibrant city in the world. 

Still, he couldn’t deny that things simply came easier these days. There is no doubt in Brian’s mind that he loves Justin, nor any that Justin loves him. It doesn’t mean he always understands why, and it doesn’t mean there aren’t still times when old demons come out to haunt them again. But by and large, things are… _good_. He goes to bed every night and wakes up every morning comfortable in the knowledge that the most incredible man he’s ever known will be right by his side, and because of that his life will always be filled with love, laughter, and, of course, the hottest sex of his life. 

In a word, Brian would describe it as content.

Sure, they’re a little older now. Justin, after all, is about the same age Brian was when they first met, and looks all the more beautiful for it. There are still some days when the light hits his face just the right way, or he gives him a certain smile, and Brian would swear he’s temporarily lost the ability to breathe.

And Brian? Even the most expensive anti-aging moisturizers in the world can’t stop time, but he doesn’t even mind the wrinkles or errant gray hairs so much anymore, doesn’t even hate the fact that he needs glasses to read. Because any time spent is time spent with Justin, and growing older is a worthy sacrifice for that reward. 

“Brian?” Justin asked, tucking Brian’s hair behind his ear. “You there?”

Brian smiled. “Come on,” he said, taking Justin’s hand. “Dance with me.”

Justin raised his eyebrows. “You heard what Gus said. No untoward behavior all evening. We have to keep a respectable distance between us, lest anybody possibly think we’re going home to fuck.”

“Well, look at Gus,” Brian said, nodding toward the teenager in question. “I didn’t raise my son to be a hypocrite.”

Justin followed his gaze and laughed. “Does that qualify as vertical lapdancing?”

“I don’t know,” Brian said. “But I _do_ know you owe me fifty bucks and a blow job since it seems the mysterious Avery is, in fact, a guy.”

Justin rolled his eyes. “Betting on your teenage son’s love interest is _so_ gauche.”

“How about I let you rim me instead of giving me $50?”

Justin used his free hand to reach around Brian and -- very discreetly -- squeeze his ass. “I love a man who knows how to negotiate.”

Brian grinned and then, since Gus was otherwise occupied and frankly, he didn’t give a damn even if he wasn’t, leaned down to kiss Justin. “Come on,” he said when they parted, “even chaperones are entitled to have a little fun.”

By the time they had made it out to the middle of the dance floor, the song had changed to one of those sappy love songs that called for less vertical lapdancing and more awkward fumbling from teenagers trying to sort out how to use their gangly limbs to attempt to look endearing and romantic to their dates. Fortunately, for Brian and Justin, this had always come easily for them, and by now, it felt like second nature. Justin laced his fingers behind Brian’s neck as Brian placed his hands at Justin’s waist. And as the singer proclaimed her love to be “the only exception,” they swayed together, their foreheads pressing together, perfectly in sync, two lovers familiar with each other in a way that comes only with time. And while their dance moves may not be elaborate, and while the sea of teenagers may not have parted for the two embarrassing parents kissing on the dance floor, the entire experience felt even more surreal and more romantic than when Brian had showed up at Justin’s prom to surprise him all those years ago.

“I love you,” Brian said, brushing his finger across Justin’s cheekbone. He still didn’t say the words frequently, still preferring to show his love for Justin through touch and deed, but there were certain occasions that just called for it. Tonight, for whatever reason, was one of them.

“I love you, too,” Justin replied, and his expression was so tender, and his smile was so radiant, that Brian felt himself lose his breath.

One song melted into another, and then yet another. Brian hoped nobody had put anything in the punch or were engaging in any vertical lapdancing, because these two chaperones were focused solely on each other. It may not be Babylon, the music might be shit, and they may not have whisky or drugs to fuel their passion, but at that moment Brian truly believed that they would defy the odds and always remain forever young.

That is, until they finally parted and saw Gus standing there, his arms crossed over his chest, and a smirk on his lips. “PDA at your age?” he asked. “Gross.”

Unfazed, Brian ruffled Gus’ hair. “You should be so lucky.”

But this time, instead of glaring at them, Gus only laughed and lightly swatted Brian’s hand away. “Avery and I were going to go to The Rocketship Diner with some friends,” he said. “Is that okay?”

“I don’t know,” Brian said. “Didn’t your moms expect you to stay at the dance till it was over?”

“The dance is lame,” Gus said. “The most exciting thing was a couple of parents reliving their lost youth and making out on the dancefloor.”

Justin snorted. “You’re welcome, by the way.”

Gus grinned at him. “Please, Dad? I’ll even say that I’m sick so that way the two of you can leave early, too.”

“Like father, like son,” Justin said, roping his arm behind Brian’s back. “Negotiating already. Gracious, sweetheart, they grow up _so_ fast!”

“I don’t want you lying to your moms,” Brian said. 

“They won’t mind,” Gus said. “I’ll even tell them myself. I did the same thing so they could leave the fall dance early, too.”

“Can’t argue with that, then,” Brian said. Leaving this hellhole early to sneak away with Justin, all with Lindsay’s tacit approval, seemed a far better idea than standing by the punchbowl all night. “Go on, Gus. Get us out of here.”

Gus smiled broadly. “Thanks, Dad,” he said. He looked torn for a second, and then, quick as a flash, he rushed forward to give Brian a hug. It was astonishingly brief, and he had disappeared into the crowd so quickly Brian almost would have thought he’d imagined it. But fleeting though the embrace may have been, it had warmed Brian’s entire body, and for that reason alone, he knew it had been real.

“He’s a good kid,” Justin said. Across the room, they watched as Gus dramatically feigned a stomach ache, attracting the attention of Principal Reed. “He loves you.”

“And you,” Brian said, pulling Justin close.

Justin rested his head on his shoulder. “So, do you think we can manage a round of horizontal lapdancing before he calls us to pick him up from the Diner?”

“I think we can manage more than that,” Brian said. Gus, now accompanied by Avery and Principal Reed, was approaching them. “Although first we must play the role of concerned parents.”

“I think I can manage that,” Justin said, “With proper incentive, of course.”

“How about I give you some incentive under the bleachers at the stadium?” Brian asked. 

Justin grinned and tucked his hand into Brian’s back pocket, giving him a nice, firm squeeze. “Deal.”

Smiling, Brian trailed his hand up and down Justin’s waist, a deceptively innocent touch that he knew always sent shivers down his spine. As predicted, Justin’s face melted into that familiar lovestruck gaze, and Brian felt that electricity course through his body in a way that he knew he’d never tire of no matter how many times he felt it. He was content, at peace, fucking aglow with happiness with the shockingly wonderful way his life had turned out.

Justin, he realized, had been right all along. 

These really were their golden years.

And there was no end in sight.


End file.
